by Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports

by Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports

Duke starting forward Ryan Kelly will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a right foot injury in Tuesday's 68-40 victory against Clemson.

The school made the announcement on its Twitter account Wednesday but did not elaborate on the nature of the injury.

Depending upon how long Kelly is sidelined, it could be a significant loss for the unbeaten and top-ranked Blue Devils (15-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) because they typically use just a seven-man rotation. The timing of the injury also hurts because Duke is poised to play preseason ACC favorite North Carolina State in Raleigh at noon Saturday.

The 6-11, 230-pound Kelly is averaging 13.4 points per game, which is the third-best scoring average on the team behind those of Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry. Kelly also is shooting 52.1% from three-point range and in his past nine games is averaging 14.4 points and 67.7% shooting from beyond the arc.

Last March, Kelly sprained the same foot, causing him to miss the ACC tournament and Duke's opening-round NCAA tournament loss to Lehigh.

Kelly scored 12 first-half points Tuesday but did not play in the second half. The Blue Devils, who saw guard Quinn Cook score a career-high 27 points, hardly needed Kelly's production against Clemson, but they will need his contributions moving forward against more formidable ACC competition.

After the Clemson game, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters, "We're hopeful that it's not real serious, but for precautionary reasons, we felt that it was not good to play him (Kelly) in the second half."

With victories against Louisville, Ohio State, Kentucky and Minnesota, Duke has pieced together the nation's strongest NCAA tournament résumé. But now its depth will be tested. Josh Hairston, a 6-7 junior averaging 1.7 points, and Amile Jefferson, a 6-8 freshman averaging 3.1 points, are likely to see increased playing time in Kelly's absence.